Month: October 2014

ClearstoneIP announces the launch of a pilot testing program for its new web application, Clearstone Elements™. The pilot program is slated to begin in November 2014 and run until Spring 2015. Clearstone Elements™ will apply ClearstoneIP’s revolutionary claims-based patent analysis platform to the field of arterial stent technology. Approved pilot group testers will be granted unlimited, free access to the Clearstone Elements™ software for the duration of the program.

Pilot Group Applicants Requested

Pilot testers will be the first to experience this groundbreaking patent analysis tool, which enables users to conduct clearance, infringement, and other claim-coverage-based analyses against all patents existing in released patent collections. The first patent collection will contain the approximately 1,200 U.S. patents assigned to Boston Scientific SciMed, Inc. that are classified in USPC 623/1.1 through 1.54 (relating to “Arterial Prosthesis”). Owning more than 15% of the stent patent universe, Boston Scientific Scimed is the largest patent holder in the field. The program’s launch will immediately provide powerful insight into the patent landscape of the industry’s largest participant.

Additional patent collections will be released each week by assignee, including Abbott Cardiovascular, Endologix, Medtronic, Cook Medical, Advanced Cardiovascular, W.L. Gore, Bard, Medinol, Johnson & Johnson, and more. The complete pool of all patents classified in USPC 623/1.1 through 1.54 is expected to be available in Spring 2015.

The ClearstoneIP Platform

ClearstoneIP’s platform has been recognized for delivering a truly unique approach to patent analysis. For the first time, patent professionals can access a hierarchically organized record of technical elements that reflect actual claim coverage (as opposed to general patent disclosure). When a user selects elements that are not embodied by a product undergoing analysis, the application will automatically eliminate patents that require the selected element for infringement. With each mouse click, patents are removed from the results, eventually resulting in a manageable list of highly relevant patents for further review by the user. Initial test results comparing Clearstone Elements™ to conventional search methods have been staggering – with ClearstoneIP’s software yielding vast improvements in precision, reliability and speed.

ClearstoneIP is determined to map and organize the entire universe of patents in this manner. It has begun the process by focusing on medical devices, but this just the beginning.

Why Stents?

Patent litigation in the medical device arena generates some of the largest damages and settlements of any industry. The number of patent infringement lawsuits in the field is also sky-high, with stent-related actions notoriously common. Companies are often unaware of the risks they face because conventional patent search methods are simply not tailored for claims-based searching.

Using Clearstone Elements™ with the forthcoming stent database, companies can mitigate the risk of litigation by quickly ascertaining problematic patents based on what the claims actually cover. Many other benefits may also be realized through the program’s unique product-to-patent mapping capability, including determining licensing opportunities, evaluating potential patent acquisitions, and improving patent marking processes.

About ClearstoneIP

ClearstoneIP is a California-based company built to provide industry leaders and innovators with a truly revolutionary platform for conducting product clearance, freedom to operate, and patent infringement searches. ClearstoneIP was founded by a team of forward-thinking patent attorneys and software developers who believe that barriers to innovation can be overcome with innovation itself.